Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Three Strikes Law. Pre-1994 Strikes. Initiative Statute.

SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponent of a new initiative may begin collecting petition signatures.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

THREE STRIKES LAW. PRE-1994 STRIKES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Provides that serious or violent felonies committed before passage of the three strikes law in 1994 do not count as strikes toward three strikes sentencing. Drops definition of crimes that count as strikes for purpose of three strikes law. Makes changes to the law that allowed resentencing for certain three strikes inmates; does not extend expired deadline to petition for resentencing. Declares that purpose of imprisonment includes rehabilitation. Removes crime of criminal threats and some first-degree burglaries from list of serious felonies that may not be plea-bargained. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Net state savings related to prison and parole operations that would likely range from the low- to mid-hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Increased county costs that could exceed one hundred million dollars annually, primarily due to increased county jail and community supervision operations. (15-0048.)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1710 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0048.

The proponent for the measure, Julie Piccolotti, must collect the signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 general election) in order to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials by April 18, 2016. The proponent can be reached at (650) 503-6751.